Digvijaya Singh backs Shinde, but says the use of the term 'Hindu terror' was not right

New Delhi: Even as the BJP continued to lash out at Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for his 'Hindu terror' remarks, Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh backed him, but said that his choice of words was wrong. Digvijaya Singh said the Home Minister used the wrong phrase and that he shouldn't have said Hindu, but 'Sanghi' terror.

Speaking to IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Digvijaya said, "The Home Minister has withdrawn his remarks. His facts were right, but not words."

He even alleged that senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj went to plead the case of terrorists. Reacting to this allegation, Sushma Swaraj tweeted, "CNN-IBN quotes Digvijay Singh 'Advani and Sushma pleaded for terrorists.' This is absolutely false."

Sparking a controversy over the alleged involvement of the BJP and the RSS in terror activists, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, during his speech at the Congress Chintan Shivir in Jaipur, had said, "Training camps of both BJP and RSS are promoting Hindu terrorism...whether it is Samjhauta blast or Mecca Masjid blast or Malegaon blast, they plant bombs and blame it on the minorities."

The statement of Shinde also had an unusual supporter, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, who praised him for his remark. "Shinde has spoken truth finally. We consider this a help from Allah for Pakistan which is always (accused) by India for terrorism," said Saeed.

The BJP demanded the sacking of Shinde over his statement and called for a nationwide protest on January 24. "The Home Minister is saying that RSS is involved in terror activities without any evidence. Shinde should either give proof of his statement or apologise before the nation for his comment," said the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.

Reacting to the allegations of the Union Home Minister, RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav said that it intended to influence the investigations. Hitting out at Shinde, he said, "The Home Minister of our country spoke in such language calling Hindus as terrorists, it is unpardonable, we take very strong exception to it. I believe that the statement of the Home Minister is actually intended to influence the investigations that are going on into the bomb blast cases."